End-gate for wagons



.(No Model.) S. D. DAVIS.

END GATE FOR WAGONS.

No. 251,530.. Patented Dec. 27,1881.

ATTORNEYS.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

STEPHEN D. DAVIS, OF MALVERN, IOWA.

END-GATE FOR WAIGONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 251,530, dated December2'7, 1881.

Application filed October 25, 1881.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN D. DAVIS, of Malvern, in the county of Millsand State of Iowa,have invented anew and useful Improvement in End-Gatesfor lVagons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming partof this specification.

This invention relates to end-gates for wagons, which are adapted to helet down to form boards or extensions to facilitate the use of a shovelin the removal of corn, potatoes, &c., with which the wagon may beloaded.

In a prior invention, described in Letters Patent No. 190,290, whichwere granted to me under date of May 1, 1877, I have shown an end-gatehaving extended sides which are adapted to inclose the end of thewagon-body, and curved arms secured to the extended sides,

which are adapted to engage with lugs on the sides of the wagon-body tolimit the downward movement of the end-gate.

In my present invention 1 have dispensed with the curved arms andprovided instead a supporting device, which is also adapted forautomatically locking the gate in a closed position, as will behereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portionof a wagon-body, showing the end-gate opened. Fig. 2 is a plan viewofthe same, showing the end-gate closed; and Fig. 3 is a detail view.

The end-gate A is hinged to the bottom of the wagon-body B by means of arod, to, which is passed through projecting perforated plates secured tothe body and gate, respectively, and removably held 1n place by a keyinserted through a perforation in one end of the rod, or by anut, as maybe preferred.

The gate is constructed with extended sides a and an end piece, I),which are adapted to inclose the end of the body B, and a broad staple,c, is secured to the outer surface of each extended side a, aboutmidway,in a horizontal position. A straight red, (I, is pivoted to therearmost tang of the staple c and arranged underneath the foremost tangthereof, so that when the gate is closed and the rod held in ahorizontal position the said foremost tang will rest upon the rod, andthus tend to force the forward end of the rod downward.

To the outer surface of the wagon-body, on each side thereof, is secureda rod, 6, whose central portion is straight and arranged in a horizontalposition, whileits rearinost end is turned upward and secured to ablock, f, on the side of the wagon-body, and its forward end is bentdownward at right angles, then inward to the surface of the said body,to which it is secured. The rod d, whose forward end is bent inwardtoward the body to form a loop, is placed in en gagement with the rod 0,so that the loop will inclose the said rod 6 and slide thereon as thegate is lowered or raised. Thus when the gate is lowered the loop willrest in the angle at the rear end of rod 0 and support the gate, andwhen the gate is raised the loop will slide along the rod 6 until itreaches the downward bend at the forward end thereof, when the tensionof the rod 61, caused by the pressure of the foremost tang of the staple0 upon it, will cause the loop to slip over the said downward bend andlock the gate in its closed position.

When it is desired to open the gate it is necessary simply to lift therods d until the loops are allowed to slip out of engagement with thebent portions of the rods 0 at their forward ends, and when itis desiredto detach the gate from the body after removing the hingerod a the gateis to be lifted upward and the loops of rods (1 thus disengaged from therods 0.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the hinged end-gate A, having extended sides a,the broad staples a, secured to the said sides, the rods d, pivoted tothe rear tangsof the said staples and having their forward ends providedwith inward curved loops, the wagon-body B, havingblocks f secured toits sides, and the rods 6, bent upward at the rear ends and secured tosaid blocks, and bent downward and inward at their forward ends to formcatches for the loops of rods d, and secured to the sides of thewagonbod y, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with an end-gate and a wagon-body, of a pair of rodssecured to the gate and body, respectively, on each side thereof, and soadapted to be engaged with each other that one rod shall serve as aguide and a stop for the other, substantially as shown and described.

STEPHEN D. DAVIS.

Witnesses: J. E. GARRIGUES A. L. YOUNG.

